A Brief History of Love
by cal.grab
Summary: When geeky Caroline Forbes is asked to join the special effects team of her favorite show, she thinks her life can't get any better. Well here's to hoping.
1. What's a Girl to Do?

"Damn." Stefan is impressed by the girl's work, and he'd only seen the first few seconds of the submitted video. It was supposed to just be fan work, but when one of the producers had pulled him aside and told him to take a look at the girl's work, he'd been skeptical, but so sorely wrong in his skepticisms. She had taken videos of Nik and Katherine and had put them into their own virtual apocalyptic world, which was something he himself, didn't really understand.

"Who ever made this had a real future in the business…" Tyler trailed off, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the detail in her made up city.

"You going to hire her Stef?" Damon was standing in the doorway of his brother's office, already having seen the video.

"I'm not sure yet, apparently she's still in college." Stefan sighed, ignoring the disbelief on Tyler and Damon's faces.

* * *

Three states above that dilemma, Caroline was having her own problems. "If Joseph and Nina don't end up together, I think I'll die." She had collapsed dramatically on her friend's dorm bed, wincing when she hit the plastic mattress. God, she forgot how much living in the dorms sucked.

"It's just a TV show Care, and frankly, not even that good." Elena stood beside the desk, applying the last layer of mascara and looking at herself from multiple angles. "I mean, aren't we too old for it anyway?" Caroline scoffed; it's not like she had a relationship of her own to obsess over, and so what was wrong with a little bit of trashy drama shows? Plus the guy that played Joseph was hella hot. "Did you wind up submitting a video to that stupid contest?"

"It's not stupid," Caroline mumbled, playing with the button on her flannel. She'd put a lot of time and effort into that video, and she thought her idea of post-apocalyptic love was great. Her Motion Graphics professor had loved it, praising her for going above and beyond. Elena shot her a look, telling her that it was, indeed, stupid. Caroline opened her mouth to argue when he phone began to buzz from her shirt pocket. Pulling it out, she read the unknown number.

"Who is it?" Elena asked, as Caroline tried to play eeny-meeny-miney-mo in her head about whether of not to pick up the damn thing. Ugh, the tiger's toe had told her to answer the phone, so she slid her finger across the green arrow.

"Hello? Caroline speaking!" He voice sounded a little forced, Caroline hated talking to anyone on the phone except for her mom.

"Caroline Forbes? This is Stefan Salvatore, head of special effects for Strange Girl? The show?" Caroline's breath caught in her throat. The HEAD of SPECIAL EFFECTS for freaking Strange Girl was calling her?

"Yes?" Caroline squeaked, ideas racing through her mind.

"You made the video Spread Our Codes to the Stars?" This Stefan character asked a lot of questions.

"Yea, that was me." Caroline felt her chest puff up a bit with pride.

"How would you like a job, working with the special effects team on Strange Girl?" Annnnnd, this was not one of the scenarios that had gone through her mind. She had imagined winning the contest and getting to spend a day on the set, or simply a bit of praise, but a job offer? Well she would have to think on that…

"Yes."

"It'd probably be a good idea for you to consider…"

"Yes, I'll take the job." Caroline's voice was insistent, I mean honestly, job offers like this did not happen to girls like Caroline Forbes.

"Aren't you still in…"

"Look, Mr. Salvatore," Stefan broke in and insisted that she call him Stefan, "Stefan, I'm a twenty year old girl who's just been offered her dream job. What would you do?" Caroline deadpanned. "I'll be there Friday." Caroline confirmed before hanging up. And promptly began screeching.

"The fuck Care!" Elena had plugged her ears and was watching Caroline jumping around in her oversized flannel and mini skirt, until her glasses went flying off her face. Elena smirked before she realized that losing her glasses wasn't going to be a deterrent. "What happened?"

"I got a job! Wait for it…." Caroline bounced a few more times, "on the special effects team for Strange Girl!" She screeched again, and Elena paused, honestly impressed with her best friend, before joining her.

"Shut up!"

"Shut your face before I break it Carol!" Caroline hollered back.


	2. Trouble

**Hi! So I've not really done an author's note yet, but if you couldn't already tell, this is AU and AH. Also a little OOC, but I'm kind of really excited by this storyline. The song is Trouble by Bittersweet. Anywho, enjoy! **

**-Calhoun **

* * *

Caroline Forbes gazed across the crowed airport, wondering where a certain Stefan Salvatore was. In the past week, she had managed to drop all of her classes, declare a hiatus from school, and not quite tell her mom. Liz was going to be hella pissed when she found out that her one and only child was in Atlanta, Georgia, being picked up by a strange man for a job that sounded too good to be true. Now that Caroline thought about it…too late, she'd spotted a rather handsome young man holding a sign with her name on it. Well if this wasn't fate, she thought, licking her lips and lugging her Vera Bradley duffle along for the ride.

"Stefan?" She was standing in front of him now and he gave her a blank look. "Caroline Forbes, that's me." She said pointing to the sign.

"Shit, sorry. I wasn't expecting someone so…" He was struggling for the right word.

"I get it, I look like a shit stack, no need to rub it in." Caroline grumbled and Stefan looked like he wanted to put his foot in his mouth. "Don't worry, I got this. You can't travel attractive Stefan, it's like a rule or something." Stefan snorted and followed behind the small blonde, out of the swarmed airport. She was right, she did look like a shit stack, and he was pretty sure there were traces of drool on her cheek.

"This way," he announced, taking her to the hourly parking deck, up three flights of stairs, and five lanes over to a black SUV. Stefan popped the back open for Caroline to put her bag down and she dug a few things out before slamming it shut, and climbing in the back seat.

"What am I? Your chauffeur?" Stefan was looking at her incredulously in the rearview mirror.

"I have to change, so don't look." Caroline warned. "I need ten minutes, think you can do that?"

"It'll take us about twenty minutes to get down to the studios actually." Stefan glanced back and could only see a pile of clothes on top of a writhing mass. He figured it'd be best to keep his eyes on the road. Caroline grunted, all attempts at preserving modesty gone. She was struggling to get the blouse tucked into her tight orange pencil skirt, and from there to get her thigh highs up past the pencil skirt. After that it was all make-up, and Caroline could work wonders with make-up. A few minutes before they were scheduled to arrive, Caroline finished the final touches, zipping up her Jeffrey Campbell 99's and throwing a J. Crew blazer over her cream colored blouse before quickly shoving all evidence of her former self into the duffle. The car had stopped just in time, and Stefan hopped out to open the door for Caroline.

He had to do a double take when she finally stepped out of the car. Long gone was the girl in ratty shorts and an over sized red flannel with messy hair and no make up. This was a new woman, and she was actually attractive. "Thank you Stefan." She smiled politely as he helped her down from the car.

"Let me take you to meet the rest of the cast and crew." Stefan smiled at the girl. She held herself with poise and glamour, charming everyone. The girl charmed even Katherine, and that was no easy task, Stefan knew himself. He had been excited to introduce her to Nik, but he was oddly nowhere to be found. Caroline found herself enjoying lunch with Katherine and Bonnie, the girl who played Nina's witchy friend on the show. Stefan had declined to join them, but offered to drive Caroline to her hotel later that afternoon.

"My God, that was exhausting." Caroline unzipped her shoes and took her blouse out of her skirt, pulling her shorts on underneath and sliding the skirt off. Stefan looked at the road with indifference. He had a feeling he would be getting used to Caroline changing in his car. Caroline exchanged her blazer for her flannel and her Jeffrey Campbell's for a beat up pair of loafers. "Much better." She grinned happily and looked at the studio pass they had printed for her today. It wasn't the real Caroline, but the façade would have to do. She'd been using it since she had been Miss Mystic Falls, poised and proper one minute, to the actual Caroline Forbes the next.

"How do you do that?" Stefan asked, and she guessed he was referring to her quick changes.

"I'm a girl, we have to be ready to change clothes at a moment's notice."

"No, I meant when you were acting fake. How do you keep it up so well?"

"Well Mr. Salvatore, looks like there's more to me than meets the eye. " Caroline artfully dodged the question as the two parked underneath the parking deck and clambered out. She grabbed her bag and prayed to God they didn't run into anyone attractive in the lobby of the old hotel. Stefan had mentioned something about seeing Nik there, and she was NOT prepared for that yet. She'd probably jump his bones on the spot, which would be awkward for everyone. They were able to make it through unscathed, when someone stuck their foot in the closing elevator.

Hot girl alert, Caroline thought to herself, checking the girl out. She wasn't gay herself, but she could appreciate beauty. "Stefan, so good to see you," the blonde girl simpered.

"Rebekah. This is Caroline, she's the newest edition to the team." Stefan gestured to her, and Caroline felt herself flush. Rebekah clearly did not think that Caroline was much to look at. Caroline looked in the corner for the rest of the elevator ride while Stefan politely entertained Rebekah.

"Oh and Stefan? We're having a little get-together on Wednesday. You should come." She winked and whisked herself off on the ninth floor. Caroline shot Stefan a smirk and stepped off with him on the twelfth floor of the hotel.

"What number are you in?" He asked, not having been paying attention at the help desk.

"1219," Caroline had to pull out the tiny folder with the keys to figure it out.

"Would you mind if I stepped in for a minute? I feel like going over what you'll be doing is important, and we didn't really cover that." Stefan was rambling a bit now, mainly trying not to tell her that Nik was in 1218, he had a feeling Caroline would die right on the spot. He was right of course, and she would forever hate a part of him for not telling her, and having to find out for herself, but that's a story for another day. Caroline shoved the card in the door roughly, jiggled the door handle, and sighed loudly when the light turned red. She made her movement slower and more deliberate and grinned when the light turned green.

"Hang on a sec Steffy, gotta get these contacts out." Caroline disappeared into the bathroom.

"Please don't call me Steffy, I'll never hear the end of it." He tried to sound irritated, but found himself grinning at the ridiculous nickname.

"Whatever you say doll face." She popped back out of the bathroom wearing a think pair of glasses. Stylish, but Stefan could see the lenses poking out the back. Girl must be blind. He shifted her duffle out of the doorway from where she had dropped it and followed her as she launched herself on the bed. The room was really nice, it had a little kitchen, a small sitting area, and of course, a lovely bedroom. "What's that door?" She moved to open it, and before Stefan could stop her, she had poked her head into the other room. "Wonder who lives here?" She questioned, shutting the door quickly. Who ever lived there wasn't very neat and had a hell of a lot more clothes than she did.

"You job description?" Stefan was sitting on the couch, and Caroline moved over to the bed and laid all the way back. "So the episode we've shot this week was partially done on a green screen, and we want you to build a similar city to the one you made in your own video. I can get you a script," Stefan paused when Caroline bolted upright.

"I get scripts?" She all but shouted. Stefan nodded slowly. "Best. Day. Ever." She whispered, emphasizing each word.

"There's one catch," he began again, watching her features turn to distrust. She knew it was too good to be true. "We need it done 24 hours before the episode airs on Tuesday."

"I have less than three days to create an entire fucking city? And not only the city, but manipulate the camera angles and the curves…" Caroline went on listing all of the things that she had to do, and Stefan cringed. He knew that changing the episode last minute would frazzle her, but Elijah had insisted, something about testing her. "Game plan with me Stefan. Let me shower, unpack, and then can you take me back to the studio?" Caroline had taken out a bright pink planner from her massive purse and began scribbling into it.

"Sure. I'll be back in thirty." He was glad she was taking this so seriously. Her new talent would be ground breaking for the show, since Tyler was doing most of the work himself, and let's face it. Tyler was as good an animator as Nik, and Stefan wasn't sure he'd ever seen Nik touch a computer.

"Thirty?" Caroline scoffed. "Give me twenty." Stefan leaned against the couch and watched Caroline rush around the room before disappearing into the bathroom with a toiletry bag. Caroline had some weird thing with time, wanting to break her own records of how long it took her to get ready. Stefan was pulled from his thoughts when he felt his phone buzz against his hip. _Miss anything today, mate? _Stefan grinned and quickly typed a response telling him about the new meat. He looked up when Caroline sauntered out, still wearing her glasses, but with her hair piled on top of her head.

"Do these tights match the thigh highs? I'm not sure how well they go with the shorts…" Caroline was, once again, wearing a ratty pair of jean shorts that were awfully short with lace tights and a grey pair of thigh highs. And her damn loafers. Caroline noticed his distaste at he shoes and frowned, "they're Cole Haan Stefan, lay off the loafers."

"I'm slightly more worried about your shirt." She looked down at the offending item with the faded pictures of Matt Bellamy from Muse and Eminem.

"It's Kan-rock-sas Stefan." Caroline deadpanned, grabbing her J. Crew blazer and throwing it on.

"So you're going to ask for my opinion and completely disregard it?" Stefan raised an eyebrow. She shrugged and pulled her laptop bag from the duffel.

"Ready! What's my time? Come on Stef, I've got like three days to do this!" Caroline was dragging him out the door by the hand.

"Eighteen minutes, wait, slow down Care!" She turned on her heel and huffed at him. "The script?" She made an O with her mouth and followed him down to room 1202. The ride down the elevator was completely silent, though not an uncomfortable silent. Caroline was flipping excitedly through the script and Stefan couldn't help but ask if she was a fan.

"Jo-na belongs together. Forever." She gave him a very serious look.

"Ok Care, lets not pull out on the crazy train," Stefan chuckled uncomfortably, knowing that Jo-na was not end game for the show, mainly because Katherine was dating Nik's brother, and so any physical contact between them always turned incredibly awkward. Unfortunately Caroline picked up on his discomfort, and stared him down.

"Jo-na isn't in our future is it?" She paused, allowing him to answer but he remained silent. "You'd better respond Stefan." Her voice was deadly quiet.

"No Caroline, and you'll be glad for it, promise." Stefan took his eyes off the road to give her a serious glance. She huffed and turned toward the window, not turning back until they had to show their badges to get onto the studio lot. "Bye Care, just text me when you need a ride!" He yelled out the window before driving off.

She let herself into the room that was designated as her office and plugged her laptop in, powering it up. She turned toward the door when she heard two British voices arguing somewhere down the hall. Se made a face at her laptop and turned up The Big Pink on Pandora, drowning out the two voices.

* * *

Nik paused hearing a beat somewhere down the hall. He leaned his head backward to investigate, and could see a light coming from one of the rooms. "Niklaus, are you listening?" Elijah questioned, ignoring the voices coming from the same source as the light.

"Who would be here at this time of day?" Nik wondered aloud.

"You and Katherine need to break off the fake relationship. Now." Elijah commanded. Nik looked back down the hallway and swore he saw a shadow flash. He turned to investigate, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Everyone knows it's fake anyway." Nik bit out, turning to his brother when he heard a sharp gasp. "Someone else is here 'lijah." He walked off to peer into the first doorway and swore he saw movement from under the desk. He walked as quietly as he possibly could to the blonde lump of hair that was peeking over the desk. "And what do we have here? Are you a fan or something?" Nik sneered, growing closer to the desk.

"Actually," The lump of hair popped up too quickly, surprising Nik. He took a couple steps back and flipped on the light. The chit gave him a quick smile, "had you been here today you would've known that we work together." Nik seriously doubted that.

"What are you? 17? I'm calling security." He muttered, grumbling something about security allowing young girls on to the premises to stalk him.

"What? No! I really work here! I'm in special effects! And I'm not seventeen." She huffed. Someone once told her she looked 25, and she took that to heart. Nik shot her a disbelieving glance, and pulled his phone from his pocket.

"That won't be necessary Niklaus, she's right. Had you been here today, you would have met Caroline, our newest acquisition." Elijah walked into the room, coming to Caroline's rescue. "Although she did look much older earlier…"

"Honestly?" Her voice was that of an indignant teenager. "Unlike the two of you, sulking about like vampires or something in the dark, I have work to do." She stated haughtily, pushing past Nik and Elijah and making her way back to the FX area. "Rude little bitches…" she muttered under her breath, slightly upset that the man she'd had a crush on for four years had treated her like a child.

"Acquisition?" Nik questioned Elijah, turning on his heel quickly to poke his head out the door. Jailbait was swinging her hips to the beat that must have been coming from her office. "You hired a teenager?"

"She's in college actually, and not a teenager, though barely." Elijah corrected his brother. Nik had been intrigued by the very young woman whose back was now turned on him. He choice of outfit was…fascinating. But, Nik reminded himself, he was in his thirties, at least ten years older than the chit, making her off limits. "I suppose it seems that I don't need to worry about you and Katherine." Elijah commented, earning him a withering glare from his younger brother.


	3. Crossing the Rubicon

**So this is a bit of a filler chapter, and I'm really sorry about taking so long to post. My computer died, and it was ugly. This is also unedited, so forgive me. English might be my first language, but it clearly wasn't my finest area of study. **

**-E.C.**

* * *

"Caroline?" She jumped about fifty feet in the air when she felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped around so fast that her pony tail smacked her in the face.

"Dammit Stefan!" She muttered, spitting hair out of her mouth. Her glasses were askew as well, so she shifted them back to the bridge of her nose, blushing when she saw the second person in the doorway. God, she still looked a wreck, and probably worse than she did last night. She scratched her cheek, attempting to see if she had any dried drool and winced immediately.

"Do you want to go to lunch? Nik and I are headed to the yacht club." Caroline shot Stefan a look that said, no way in hell. "I'm buying?" Caroline grinned at him.

"Can I finish the scene first?"

"Sure, we're not headed out for another fifteen, I have to go check on Tyler. I brought you a change of clothes too." Stefan gave her outfit a distasteful look. Caroline frowned at him, but took her duffle from him. "There's some sort of meeting at two, so we have to be back by then. Apparently it's mandatory." Caroline shrugged at Stefan and shot a look at Nik who was staring directly at her. She quickly turned her eyes back to Stefan and shooed the two out of her office, avoiding Nik's…penetrating look. Sitting back down, she made a few more clicks in element 3D, before checking on her Universe download. She made a note to ask Stefan if he had seen the update.

Pulling out her duffle, Caroline realized she didn't have a lot of clean clothes left. A lace green dress, a sheer button down, and an oversized sweatshirt were just about all she had left. It was too hot for the two pairs of jeans she had brought, and she desperately needed more shorts. Caroline quickly locked the door and put the sheer button down and sweatshirt on her desk. The sweatshirt would be warm in the Atlanta spring, but the dress was way too nice. She quickly slid into the old sweatshirt and her loafers. Caroline contemplated putting contacts in, before making the decision.

"Ow, ow ow! God dammit…" Caroline hated the damn things, but she felt so much better in them. Jogging to the bathroom down the hall, she applied a layer of eyeliner and a swipe of mascara, before running down the hall to meet Stefan and Nik. "Ready!" She busted out of the doors and into the back of Nik. Luckily, he had heard the elephant steps barreling in his direction and was able to catch himself, and Caroline's hand before she hit the concrete of the studio room.

"Thanks," Caroline breathed as he pulled her up and into his chest. Nik stared at her for a beat before letting her go and turning back around promptly. "Jackass." she then muttered under her breath, pushing past him to stand beside Stefan. "What's going on?"

"Corporate is here, that's what the meeting is about later." Stefan whispered to her. Standing in the corner with Elijah was an older man in a suit. Caroline looked questioningly at Stefan and he leaned down again. "Head of the company, Michael Mikaelson."

"Isn't that…?"

"Nik's father? Yea. Bit of an ass, mainly to Nik." Stefan whispered to Caroline quietly. Caroline looked back to Nik and noticed the look on his face. She couldn't quite place it, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. Caroline tugged on Stefan's shirt, pulling him to follow her out the door, and she hoped Nik would follow, and was pleased to see that he did.

"Nice outfit Care, pretty sure I can see your ass." Stefan commented from behind her.

"Only means you were looking sunshine!"

* * *

"Oh my god, I fucking love onion rings." Caroline cooed when her food was set down in front of her. The mood was particularly tense with Nik all mad about his father, and Stefan was brooding over god knows what. Caroline figured that they were secret lovers or something ridiculous. Toying with a small onion ring in silence, Caroline was struck with a brilliant idea. Standing, and walking around Stefan to the other side of the table, she took the onion ring and got on one knee in from of Nik. "Will you marry me?" She asked with a straight face. Nik actually cracked a smile, and Stefan almost choked on a fry.

"What about Kat?" He managed to cough. Caroline wrinkled her nose and Nik took the onion ring, taking a bite.

"Hey! That was your wedding ring!" Caroline snapped before moving back to her chair. "And Stef, they broke up. Duh."

"I hate being out of the loop, I miss everything important. It's like, what do you mean Caroline proposed? What do you mean Nik and Kat broke up? What do you mean someone shot archduke Ferdinand?" Stefan sighed, eating another fry. "Speaking of which, what do you two think of that plane that disappeared?"

"Alternate dimension." Caroline stated emphatically. "Did either of you watch Fringe?" Nik nodded at her, and smiling, she continued, "totally plausible, right?"

"I suppose it makes more sense than any other explanation we've been given, but there haven't been any events to give us clue as to as event that would tear a rip in the fabric." Nik mused.

"Well with Olivia on the case, we'd never know." Caroline countered.

"What do you mean someone stabbed Caesar?" Stefan rolled his eyes at the two of them, breaking the connection. Caroline pouted. "What are you doing tonight?" Stefan ignored Caroline and directed his question at Nik.

"Not drinking with you mate." Nik laughed, taking a swig of beer.

"What am I going to do then, _mate_?" Stefan mimicked Nik's accent.

"Stefan, you need a girlfriend." Stefan turned to look at Caroline

"Caroline?" She laughed in response to Stefan's big eyes and pouty lips. "I'd treat you like a princess?" He offered.

"Don't say you'll 'treat a girl like a princess' unless you're prepared to follow up on that shit. If I'm not living in a castle by the sea with diplomatic powers over a small country then you're a bitch-ass liar."

"That-a girl." Nik raised his beer to Caroline, smiling at her when she clinked her sweet tea with his bottle. God damn, that smile could sail a thousand ships. "So Caroline, I know next to nothing about you…"

"Well you know I'm not seventeen." Caroline might be in love with the man sitting in front of her, but that didn't mean she'd take shit from him. Stefan shot them a confused look, but Caroline continued after Nik muttered an apology. "I'm not really that interesting though." Caroline pondered for a minute before settling on that answer.

"Oh I bet you're fascinating love." Nik leaned forward on the table. Caroline couldn't take her eyes away from his. Stefan about died from coughing and Caroline gave him her worst look. Nik ignored him and continued, "I want to know your hopes, your dreams, everything you want in life."

"Every color gel pen. Obviously. But seriously? I guess I want to see the world. I want everything it has to offer to me. I want to see live music and beautiful art." Caroline shrugged. "Speaking of bands I want to see, what ever happened to franz ferdinand?" Stefan shot her a meaningful look. "The band, not the archduke. I know what happened to the archduke." Nik gave her a meaningful look as their waitress dropped off their checks.

"I said I'd pay…" Stefan began, but Caroline waved him off and said she could pay for herself.

"I just need leave a tip…Hang on, I need a minute…" Caroline was struggling, and Stefan laughed at her.

"Come on Care, you did this in like 2nd grade."

"I don't even remember what I have for dinner last night you fucking whore." She snapped at Stefan. He put his hands up in surrender.

"We'd better get going, god forbid we miss that meeting." Nik stood up and began to usher the two fools out the the yacht club.

* * *

"Damon, what's going on?" Stefan had found his brother almost immediately after he, Caroline, and Nik had gotten back from lunch. Everyone on the team, both cast and crew, was gathered on the first soundstage, milling about. Tyler was standing with Damon, and both were wearing tragic hats. She could see a tattoo poking out from Tyler's arm, and when she moved toward him and Damon, Nik followed closely behind her, hoping to avoid his father.

"Cool tattoo, what's it of?" Caroline cocked her hip and Tyler grinned at her. Check mate.

"It's tribal."

"Oh I see, and what tribe are you from?" Caroline asked innocently. Tyler shot her a distasteful look and walked to the other side of the crowd.

"You're a saucy one, aren't you?" Nik laughed from behind her. Caroline grinned at him as Stefan made his way back to them.

"Apparently the company is doing an overhaul before season two. Trying to get ratings up." Stefan explained. He pointed to a severe woman in a suit, "Lexi Branson apparently. Head bitch is charge according to Damon."

"I'm new, what does this mean for me?"

"Well, you're still on a test run, and if they don't hire you, they aren't worth it anyway." Stefan clapped a hand on her shoulder. Nik was wondering why all of the crew was fawning over Caroline.

"May I have your attention?" Elijah stood at the front of the crowd. It was a few seconds before the voices quieted and he continued, "I'd like to introduce Miss Branson, she's from corporate, she'll be saying a few words. Following this, you all may return to your normal work." Elijah too a few steps back, and the woman with the tight bun stepped up to where he had been standing.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lexi, and I'm hoping to becoming close with some of you. The others will be escorted off of the premises today." The crowd began to titter and Caroline was worried that her arm pits were about to soak through. "Yes," Lexi smiled, "some of you won't make it through the workday, and the cast is included with this. Now, let's begin…"

One by one people left, each more pissed off than the next. "Now, I've been informed by Elijah that you all are trying out a new special effects editor. A Miss…Forbes?" She turned to Elijah to fact check, and turned back to the crowd smiling when he nodded. "Well Miss Forbes, I've seen your work, but we only have budget for one on set special effects editor." Caroline took a deep breath, expecting the worst. "We'd like to keep you on Miss Forbes, but you're a pretty girl. Don't think we won't use that to our advantage. With corporate cutting our budget in half, some of you will be expected to take on other duties, including you Miss Forbes. But we'll talk about that later. Mr. Lockwood? I'm going to assume you know what this means."

"Come on! This is ridiculous! She's just trying to get in Mikaelson's pants." Tyler shouted from the back of the group.

"Well, whether or not she wants in his pants is her concern, but I shall ask you not to pass judgements on Miss Forbes, Mr. Mikaelson, or their sex life." Lexi announced and gestured for security to escort a yelling Tyler away. "Care to comment Miss Forbes?"

"I'm sure he'd think it was statutory rape." Caroline assured Miss Branson, who smiled, before continuing with the onslaught of terminations. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief when Stefan was kept on and did a silent cheer when Nik wasn't fired with the red haired witch he was sleeping with on the show. She was a little shocked when it was announced that new writers would be taken on, and they were looking for young, inexperienced writers.

"Now, a TV show is like a house. if a lightbulb goes out, you don't buy a new house, you just change the lightbulb, unless that house is a lying whore. Then you burn the fucker to the ground and buy a better house with lights that you can fucking count on." Lexi's voice raised a bit at the end, startling the group.

"Sounds like she has some personal issues," Caroline whispered to Stefan. The two watched as Lexi pulled herself back together.

"I have a photographer coming in from EW tomorrow, she'll be photographing the crew and cast, followed by some promo photos for season two. Miss Forbes, I'd like to speak to you privately for a minute?" Caroline gave Stefan a look before moving to the front as Lexi dismissed the much smaller group.

"Yes?" Caroline stood in front of Lexi as she flipped through a manila folder. Lexi looked up, almost alarmed that Caroline was asking her a question.

"Right, Miss Forbes?" Caroline nodded. "You look younger than you do in your staff photo, but that's ok. I'd like to hire you on as a model for the promo shoot, you'll be paid." It was Caroline's turn to looked a bit shocked. "Look, we have hardly any money in the budget for extra models, and we need a girl to pose. I saw your photo and thought you could do the job. I saw in your resume you've been a model before?" Caroline nodded. "Well that's perfect. After the EW shoot, you'll report with the cast to hair and make up. Don't be late!" Lexi grinned and turned to walk toward Elijah and Mikael. Caroline wandered her way back to where Stefan, Damon, Nik, and Rebekah were standing.

"So what was that about Barbie?" Damon asked her, still looking rather dumb in his hat.

"Well. You're looking at your new promo shoot model." Caroline rocked back on her heels and gave the group an awkward smile.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Rebekah groaned. Caroline shot her a withering stare.

"Why are you even here?" Caroline asked, wrinkling her eyes at the other blonde.

"Head of hair, make up, and wardrobe." Rebekah smiled nastily. Caroline rolled her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be fun. She felt her phone begin to vibrate and froze when she saw her mother's picture on the screen she turned as white as a sheet. Shit.


End file.
